by Chris Banescu –
God’s name has been banished from the Democrat Party Platform for 2012. As first reported by CBN and now confirmed by accessing the actual Democrat Party Platform published on their website, the word “God” has been completely removed from the wording used in their national platform. God is not included at all in the DNC vision for America.

God was previously mentioned only once in the 2008 DNC party platform. He was recognized in this sentence:

“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

That specific paragraph was rewritten and the words “God-given” have been removed. The sanitized version now reads as follows:

“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”

by Chris Banescu –
Conservatives are noticing that as the presidential race intensifies Mitt Romney seems to have become more conservative. Not only has he picked Paul Ryan, a staunch pro-life Catholic conservative with impeccable credentials, as his running mate, but his campaign platform is gradually incorporating more conservative principles, while his messages have become sharper, clearer, and more focused on important moral and Constitutional principles.

Others have observed the same positive development. In an editorial on American Thinker, Rosslyn Smith highlights a plausible explanation for this gradual public shift in Mitt Romney’s positions. Romney is more fully expressing and defending the same conservative principles he has always believed in and the values he’s embraced all his life. Except now he realizes just how ideologically different he is from the Marxist we now have as president. The unmitigated disaster that Obama’s policies have been for America, his consistent scorn for company owners and anti-business rhetoric, and the certain catastrophe four more years of such misguided and incompetent leadership will bring, may have motivated Romney to stand up more forcefully for his conservative beliefs and in defense of America. [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
The mass murderer in Norway, Anders Breivik, was just “punished” with a whopping 21 years of jail time for the cold-blooded and indiscriminate massacre of 77 innocent men, women, and children. That’s a mere 3.27 months of jail time for each murdered victim. Those European socialists sure know how to “protect” their citizens!

Adding insult to injury and outrage to injustice, in his final public statements, Breivik failed to show any remorse for his atrocious massacre of so many defenseless souls. Safe in the knowledge that he will never have to face the death penalty (Norway abolished it a while ago), the sociopath brazenly “apologized” for not killing even more people and achieving an even higher death toll in his murderous campaign.

OSLO – A court on Friday sentenced Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian extremist who admitted killing 77 people, to at least 21 years in prison after ruling that he was sane when he carried out his country’s worst peacetime atrocity. The sentence was the most severe permitted under Norwegian law, but it can be extended at a later date if he is still deemed to be a danger to society. [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
It is reassuring to the flock when a faithful shepherd preaches Christ and teaches the Truth at every opportunity. It is also uplifting for the laity to see an Orthodox Bishop who publicly and clearly proclaims and defends the unchanging moral teaching of the Christian faith and the Holy Orthodox Church. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, recently addressed the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and his comments showed the Church and those listening why he is a worthy leader of the Orthodox Church in America.

In his remarks, Metropolitan Jonah warns us about the radical departure from traditional Christianity we’re experiencing in the West and the dangerous consequences of such actions. He identifies key challenges that Christians face in the increasingly hostile and secularized culture we find ourselves living in and the increasing persecution we will encounter. He also emphasizes the importance of traditional Christian denominations to stand united in opposing such falsehoods.

I have highlighted below several important points and observations from his speech. His words must be shared with the rest of the Orthodox Church and other Christians. The full text of his address is also reproduced further down.

(1) We are all in a serious battle with secularism. Christians must stand together and proclaim the True Christian faith, without alteration, without change, without revisions.

Our battle is against secularism. His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, has called for us to stand together against this enemy. This is the realignment: to stand together for the faith once delivered by Christ to the Apostles, and thence to the Bishops, without alteration, without change, without revisions; against those who would submit their faith to the current of the age, the wisdom of this world. We must stand together, and we cannot stand alone. Even the immense Roman Church is buffeted by the militant secularists, who defy authority and criticize that which they know not, and we can see in this country how increasingly fragile their unity is. [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
This past weekend we lost an influential and great champion for Christ and truth. Charles W. “Chuck” Colson’s bright light is no longer in the world, but still shines on in eternity as a beacon of hope and faith for current and future generations. His legacy and example will live on in the hearts and souls of many Christians – Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant – who were inspired by his strong faith, admired his clarity of thought and vision, and were reassured by his courage and conviction.

It is fitting that he went to meet the Lord at the end of what is Bright Week for all Orthodox Christians. For during this time the Resurrection Hymn is sung at all memorial services to remind us that Christ’s Resurrection destroyed death granting us eternal life: “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”

Unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to meet Colson in person. However, I have followed his active Christian ministry and prolific commentaries with a lot of interest and admiration, often sharing his wisdom with many of our Orthodox Christian readers [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
Almost 50 years ago legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey issued a dire warning to America about what will happen if people fall away from God, abandon moral principles, and believe Satan’s many lies. In his prophetic April 3rd, 1965 radio broadcast of an essay he had written titled “If I Were The Devil”, Paul Harvey outlined what he thought the prince of darkness would do in order to undermine and destroy the United States of America.

Sadly, almost everything Paul Harvey warned us about has already come to pass; a confirmation that his prophetic warnings were truly inspired by God. Tragically, the level of corruption and moral decadence continues to reach new lows, ensnaring more and more people and institutions in this country. Things are getting worse with each passing day.

If I were the prince of darkness, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness. I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — thee.

So, I would set about however necessary to take over the United States.

I’d subvert the churches first, and I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.” [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
Orthodox Christians are thankful and grateful for the vocal and passionate public stance of Catholic Bishops and Catholic leaders who categorically oppose Obama’s HHS healthcare mandate. Your courage in defending our constitutionally protected religious liberty is making us stronger. Your public and uncompromising witness to Christian principles and your passionate advocacy in protecting the life of the unborn is giving us hope.

It’s impressive and inspiring to witness the speed and conviction with which Catholic Bishops and other Catholic organizations responded to the new HHS rule and denounced it as unconstitutional and immoral from the start. On the same day the Obama administration made the announcement, January 20, 2012, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a press release declaring it unconscionable and a blatant violation of religious liberty. [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
Perpetual crises and suffering, societal unrest, financial emergencies, institutional dysfunction, governmental tyranny, murder and mayhem, wars, riots, terrorism, and the persecution of the righteous and innocent continues to be the “normal” state of affairs for people and countries around the world. Despite the constant assurances from most secular governments and politicians who promise us “utopia on earth” in exchange for surrendering more of our freedoms and embracing their atheistic and progressive “solutions”, things are getting worse, not better. This seems to be a persistent problem of all human civilizations throughout history, not just a defect particular to our own age. “Terrific energy is expended — civilizations are built up — excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes wrong. Some fatal flaw always brings the selfish and cruel people to the top, and then it all slides back into misery and ruin. In fact, the machine conks. It seems to start up all right and runs a few yards, and then it breaks down,” observed C.S. Lewis. What is the real source of this suffering and is there any hope for a cure?

It is foolishness to believe that the turmoil, economic devastation, social corruption, and societal instability happening in Greece, Egypt, England, France, Romania, other European countries, and even here in America is simply about economics, politics, education, financial mismanagement, or religious, ethnic, or cultural differences. What it is about is the catastrophic moral failure of individuals with power and influence across many organizations and institutions, especially politicians and government leaders. The immorality, vanity, arrogance, hypocrisy, selfishness, corruption, cowardice, envy, greed, and reckless disregard for the long-term safety, liberty, and well-being of the people – whom they have sworn to serve and protect – that we see in the conduct of our leaders are symptoms of what always happens when man rejects God’s truth and wisdom and tries to setup for himself an earthly “utopia” separate from Christ’s teaching. [Read more…]

by Chris Banescu –
President Barack Obama, a life-long Champion for Abortion, is hell-bent on forcing religious institutions to pay for birth control and abortion drugs coverage for their employees. New regulations implemented by the Obama administration mandate that sterilization options, abortifacients (abortion drugs), and contraception services must be included in virtually all health plans, including those offered by Christian charities, church-based hospitals, Christian universities, and other faith-based social services agencies. Obama now demands that his anti-life and pro-abortion agenda must be supported not only by our tax dollars, but also by the donations of Christians who consider the destruction of human life morally abhorrent and an abomination. Abortion is held in such high regard by President Obama that he is willing to violate the First Amendment religious rights of millions of Americans in order to impose and fund his agenda.

On January 20, 2012, the Health and Human Services (HHS) department, under the direction and influence of the Obama administration, issued a final rule that requires health insurance plans, including those of religious institutions, “cover preventive services for women including recommended contraceptive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance or a deductible.” HHS’ rule further states that plans must cover the “full range of the Institute of Medicine’s recommended preventive services, including all FDA – approved forms of contraception.” The FDA’s list of approved methods of contraception includes abortifacients, abortion drugs prescribed to kill life in the womb after conception. [Read more…]